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Santa Teresa 1796 Antiguo de Solera

The Ron Santa Theresa 1796 Antigua de Solero is a Venezuelan rum which can trace its ancestry back to the year of 1796 when the Santa Theresa Hacienda was created. It was of course, 200 years later that the Ron Santa Theresa 1796 was created to commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of the Hacienda. This is a true Solero rum with 4 rows of aging barrels set one atop each other. As the rum ages, a portion of the rum moves through each row until it reaches the final solero row at the bottom years later. The barrels are not emptied fully and only a portion of the rum from the previous or higher row is moved to the lower row each time. According to the Santa Theresa website, a portion of the rum reaches an age approximating 25 years before bottling.

IN THE BOTTLE (5.0/5)

The rum arrives in a very nice blue canister which looks great on my rum shelf. The labeling on the bottle and on the canister is professional and eye-catching. The tall bar-room bottle is protected by a wax sealed cork. I love it!

IN THE GLASS (9.0/10)

The rum has a different reddish tone and the initial aroma seems to be hinting that the spirit at some point in its journey passed through an exotic wine cask which has left an imprint of fruity dark cherries and plums upon the scent of the rum. Rich aromas of butterscotch and light smells of molasses join with these fruity scents and the result is most appealing. Wood spices abound, and they are tart like cinnamon and cloves. I also sense a deeper imprint of lush dark fruit (plums, dark cherries and raisins) as time passes.

IN THE MOUTH (55.0/60)

The dark fruity flavours combined with the butterscotch and the caramel flavours of the rum are very good. Along with the exotic wine flavours are tart orange peel and fresh overripe banana. Lots of baking spices cover the palate including vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon.There are even a few notes of chocolate and tobacco mixed in. Of course, over top of all of these flavours are the regular rummy caramel and toffee flavours I love.

I found however, that the exotic components were extremely appealing only if I spaced my tasting sessions out over time. If I return to this rum after an absence of several weeks, I just love it. If I return to quickly, the flavour becomes lightly cloying and the experience diminishes. This is the way it is with some rums. They are very good; but only in well spaced doses.

IN THE THROAT (13.5/15)

The rum has a lot of complexity as it reaches the finale. Oak spices, dark fruit, layers of chocolate and rich butterscotch swirl and compete for attention as the rum hits the back of my throat; but somehow balance is never quite achieved.

The Afterburn 9/10

The appeal of this rum is to visit it only when something special is in order. The flavour is unique and refreshing but not in an everyday kind of way.

If you are interested in comparing more scores, here is a link to my other published Rum Reviews.

My Final Score is out of 100 and you may (loosely) interpret the score as follows:

0-25 A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49 Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59 You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69 Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74 Now we have a fair mixing rum or whisky. Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79 You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84 We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89 Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94 Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+ I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal scale as follows: